your hands are cold
by Turbotail88
Summary: Her eyes are the prettiest when she's with her. shoujo-ai, Ymir/Krista


CLEARLY NOT FINISHED WITH CHAPTER 20 SO HERE'S A DISTRACTION! WILL UPDATE LATER TODAY! :D Thank you!

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Ymir drummed her fingers on the table, watching the blonde in front of her eat. The soldiers-to-be were allowed a brief respite after the gruelling training Shadis put them through. However, despite the gloomy and tired atmosphere, Krista remained bright and shining. She ate her bread and cheese with a smile on her face and conversed happily with Sasha, who took to begging for more food.

Suddenly, she turned her blue eyes to Ymir and gave a bashful smile, to which the brunette blinked and blushed slightly. The blonde tilted her head and giggled, returning to her food with the same shade of red streaked across her cheeks. Ymir rolled her eyes and put her head on her arms, closing her eyes in thought.

There was something, something in her eyes that Ymir couldn't identify... something special. Whenever Krista looked at her nowadays, there was this little glint in her eyes, this secret sparkle, as though she knew something the brunette didn't, as though there was a hidden intention in her actions. She smiled more, hugged her longer, stood closer... Krista kept to Ymir much more often than she did several months ago, when the two had first become reluctant friends.

Ymir wasn't sure what to make of this, and simply thought nothing of it, since her little blonde friend could be quite weird when she felt like it... like now. Ymir peeked between her eyelids as discreetly as possible and noticed the intense gaze Krista was giving her. A fire burned her insides and caused her stomach to clench tightly with an unfamiliar emotion.

The brunette shivered and turned her head the other way, finally realizing exactly how Krista felt. How could she have not seen it before? The blonde was strangely nice to her, taking her crap and sometimes shoving it right back at her. She always stuck by her side and tried to show Ymir the beauty of the world, how helping others helped the soul.

Of course, Ymir couldn't care less about the beauty of the world and all the hopeful crap Krista tried to feed her, but she did appreciate the effort. She did appreciate the company, the voice that answered her own, and the pull that harmonized with her push. But now she knew – she knew exactly why Krista stood by her for as long as she did and looked at her with that smouldering gaze.

But the question was: did she feel the same?

Ymir stood abruptly, ignoring Krista's enquiries, and exited the mess hall. She kicked up dust as she walked, her gait quick and clumsy. She heard a shout and rapid footsteps behind her, which caused her to break out into a run and dash behind the girls' dormitory. Ymir's heavy breathing was quickly halted with a hand to her mouth and deep, quieter breaths through her nose. She hoped to whatever governed their world that Krista wouldn't find her, that she wouldn't have to face those exquisite blue eyes that seemed to beg for an answer to an unspoken question. The brunette would prefer to run from these types of problems and simply ignore them, but now she was afraid that Krista would confront her directly, and she was not prepared for whatever Krista had in her heart.

Reiner had once grumbled jealously that Krista's eyes were the prettiest around Ymir, that she seemed to glow with a shining radiance and truly appeared like the goddess she was renowned for. Ymir knew not what he was talking about then, but now she saw – now her ignorance had been lifted and now she had peeled apart her strange behaviour to see the romantic love she had for her.

Ymir shivered, though that was more from the thought than from the cold. Krista loved her, had romantic feelings for her... it made her warm despite the frigid bite on her cheeks. Ymir knew she had a certain fondness for her little friend, but love? She knew not what love was, nor how to identify it within herself.

"Ymir?"

"Shit..."

"Are you there?"

"No.."

"Ymir.."

"Go away."

"Why did you leave the mess hall?"

Ymir pushed her back harder against the wall behind her and stared up at the starry sky. Krista stood by the edge of the dormitory and fidgeted nervously as she stared at Ymir. Her eyes peeked from below her lashes and Ymir couldn't help but sneak a glance and turn away with a blush.

Her eyes glittered like sapphires.

Krista slowly strode forward and halted in front of Ymir. The crickets sang their melody in the background and the raucous laughter of the other trainees echoed faintly through the trees around them. The frost under their boots crunched with every fidget, and their breaths puffed out and condensed in the cool air.

They remained in silence, Krista staring at Ymir and the brunette locking her gaze to the constellations. The blonde clenched her hands into fists and struggled to convey her thoughts to words. She opened her mouth and inhaled sharply, catching Ymir's attention. She caught her gaze and held her breath. Her confession failed to materialize.

"Why did you leave the mess hall?" she repeated instead.

Ymir looked away with something akin to disappointment and shrugged. Krista bit her lip and crossed her arms. Her gloves kept her hands warm, but Ymir's were bare and exposed to the harsh wind. She shivered as a particularly biting breeze nipped at her cheeks and once more glanced at the brunette's obviously cold hands.

She wanted to hold them, and warm them, but first..

"Ymir?" Krista started, her voice small and quiet.

"Hm?" Ymir grunted.

"I need to tell you something.." the blonde continued in a whisper.

"Do you?"

The tall girl kept her gaze uninterested and her tone flat, but inside she felt a squirming sensation in her stomach and a foreboding feeling. She knew exactly what Krista was going to say, but she wasn't sure how she would react to the real thing.

"It's.. it's really important," Krista explained.

"Then say it."

"I.."

Krista blushed and smiled down at her boots. She uncrossed her arms and ignored Ymir's questioning gaze. She gathered her courage and traced heart shapes into the frost beneath her feet.

"I love you."

Ymir blinked.

"Say that again?"

Krista puffed her cheeks and stomped her foot. "What the hell! Are you seriously asking me to repeat myself?"

"I didn't hear you the first time."

"Sure you didn't.."

"I'm serious."

The blonde sighed and nodded. This time, she grabbed Ymir's cold hands with her gloved ones and looked dreamily into her brown orbs. The brunette pushed down the urge to flee and planted her feet firmly.

"I love you."

Ymir blinked. She felt a warm sensation spread through her chest and ducked her chin to hide her smile. She couldn't help it.. it just came to her naturally. Krista always made her smile, whether it be mockingly, or arrogantly, or genuinely... the blonde just had that ability to lift her mood with a glance, or a touch, or simply her presence. Ymir bit the inside of her cheek to keep her smile from growing - now she knew exactly how she felt.

"I know."

"Huh?"

"I know," Ymir repeated, "'cause I figured it out in the mess hall."

"Is that why..?"

"Yeah."

Krista grinned and laughed gently. She swung Ymir's hands around and giggled at her eye roll. Eventually, she calmed down and stepped closer to the freckled girl, looking up at her with an evident hope shining in her eyes. Ymir grinned, already reading her thoughts, and leaned down to gently press their lips together. Their lips were cold, but they felt on fire. As they slowly leaned back, Ymir held a look of amazement in her eyes and Krista's sparkled with joy. She gripped Ymir's hands tightly.

"Your hands are cold," Krista murmured, holding Ymir's hands up to her lips.

"Yeah, so?"

"I'll warm them up for you."

"Krista.."

"Mm?"

"Your eyes... they're like sapphires in this light."

Krista giggled. "Yours remind me of an animal's warm fur.. your eyes make me feel warm inside whenever I look into them."

"Thanks, I'm sure everyone likes having their eyes compared to an animal's smelly, sweaty-"

"Ymir, shut up and enjoy the compliment!"

"Heh.."

They remained in silence, their eyes resembling the stars above. Soon, the gates to blue and brown closed as they reunited their cold lips. Ymir's hands were warm by the time they returned to their dorm.


End file.
